teelack

Bullfrog. I don't think that the Coins will suit for Xmas Day on the basis of what you are looking at. This is your well cooked but standard meal. Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

On a couple of occasions each time in Pattaya I look forward to a roast dinner. There are so many options in the Soi Buakhao area for eat all you can for about 300 baht. I really have no interest in these all you can eat meals and I have more than enough trouble getting through the place that I go to. The Coins Restaurant is in Soi Buakhao about 100 metres past Soi Diane heading South. It has indoor and outdoor seating, all the English newspapers and comfortable chairs. The price for their Sunday Roast has just increased from 149 baht to 169 baht but IMHO is still great value. There are two meats on the plate, usually pork and chicken, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, some greens, Yorkshire pudding and a jug of gravy on the side. I stagger back after eating a meal of this size so you might like to give it a go.

Like MM says this is not a scam. I went to TT this month and decided to check the rate at the exchange across the road. By the time I got back 2 minutes later the rate had gone down. Bugger! Having said that the rates I get in Pattaya are superior to what I can get at home and I also save the at least 1% charge. I have zero complaints other than that the big banks give crap rates compared with the likes of TT. Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

Personal preference is a strange thing. I have a Wyndham Estate story. Some five or six years ago I was following my normal procedure which is Australian reds and New Zealand whites. I bought some Wyndham Estate red and it was IMHO undrinkable. I contacted the company, met up with the sales rep and without any argument he arranged a full credit. It was horrendous. To the best of my knowledge this was simply a bad wine and wasnt tainted. I have never bought it again. A question was asked about the chardonnay. For me, most Aussie whites have a taste of preservative that is off putting but I will concede that at almost any price point they make some of the best reds in the world and even an el cheapo red from Aussie can be value for money. Their Merlots and Shiraz are usually outstanding and the Cabernet /blends are as good as it gets if you like then full of flavour and high in tannin. Personally if I was buying Aussie reds (I wont buy their whites) I would simply stick to the international brands that are available in almost any wine store in Pattaya. Having said that I am so spoiled with my (white) wine drinking in NZ that I simply do not drink the stuff in Thailand due to the excessive prices/ho hum quality. As a foot note, the only time I have drunk wine in the region is in Cambodia where there are superb French wines available at bargain basement pricing.

I too stayed at the Lek and the lukewarm breakfast was dreadful at any price. The room was so so but the abiding memory is still that breakfast. I never went back.

This from friends in Canada.. Subject: Fwd: A MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN....circulating on the Canadian/US Internet Begin forwarded message: Subject: A MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN A MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In light of your failure to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories . Your new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect: 1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary'). 2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of '-ize.' 3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday. 4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not ready to shoot grouse. 5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public. 6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour. 7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it. 8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar. 9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion. 10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialect in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater. 11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full Kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). 12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries. 13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad. 14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776). 15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season. God Save the Queen! PS: Only share this with friends who have a good sense of humour (NOT humor)

I made it here last night as I was heading to the beach to do a bit of sailing with my Loy (or is it the Kratong that sails?) I had a seat outside watching all the action on Beach Road. I ordered the spring rolls and the same pad Thai as Evil, the one in the egg wrapper. Here are my impressions. I might also add from the start that total cost with a bottle of soda water was 190 baht, but was it value? OK, first off with a place on Beach Road it was a fair price and good value. I actually ordered too much as there was a good pile of spring rolls and was really meant to be shared by two. There was a nice little green salad on the side and the rolls were served in a shaped fried crispy edible thingo. The pad Thai was fine and I was struggling to eat all on the plates but just managed it by wasting a bit of salad. Had I have shared the rolls the meal would have been spot on for size and taste. The only things that slightly irked me is the Thai inability to serve a starter and leave a minute or two between courses but this is Thailand and not Europe. Then there was the pad Thai. I am used when eating Thai to expect not less than 6 kung but in this case and I believe by design you get two. It was still a good meal and the service was fine but I never seemed to have the same person serve or collect twice. Again, not a biggie. I can recommend this place for a cheap and cheerful meal as you watch Beach Road at its frenetic best. If however you want authentic Thai as opposed to tourist Thai food then a little bit of looking might be worth your while. This is the first Evil review I have tried. He might be onto something!

Ok and thanks. It is one thing to find out what a bot or crawler but another to find out (succinctly) what they do, who controls them and what their purpose is. Sent from my XT1033 using Tapatalk

I only wish I knew what you were all talking about. Care to share with the uneducated? Sent from my XT1033 using Tapatalk

Wow. This is my sort of food and the prices are brilliant. Who would have thought such a place existed on Beach Road. Thanks.

I was in the Walking Street area last night and ended up at Pandoras. From what I could see lady drinks were few and far between in places like Sapphire but seem to keep flowing at Pandoras. I think that you have to look at the total entertainment package rather than the specifics. As a matter of interest I did mention this to Rick as the full recognition of this dawned on me as my bar tab was over the 1000 baht mark.

The mantra of the Boat always has been CHEAP! I will admit that I decided some while ago that I would be happy to pay a bit more and go to some other place, All I ever eat there is the breakfast and it has been adequate for the money however all that has changed as the Retox breakfast has shown that you can get good and plentiful food for very little money. The Boat is what it is and I think that those that like the cheap meals will still see it as a bargain.

Some places are made for fun and others for stunners. I dont think that anyone goes to Pandoras for stunners but it is hard to beet for interactive fun.

Thanks once again for starting my day off with a chortle at your twisted mind and great yarns.

In terms of Pattaya the improvement in the $US is a two edged sword. The apparent reason is the likelihood of the interest rates improving anytime soon in the US. People want their dollars to earn dollars and as interest rates improve more money will be converted into dollars. The other side of the coin is that other currencies will fall as they become less popular to US citizens and banks. The overall effect therefore could be that less people come to Thailand as the rate of their currency decreases. All this assumes of course that the Thai baht does not plummet as well.

I watched this debate and I recalled an old yarn from the UK. The local soccer club had as an honorary member the local bishop. When a new one was appointed the directors invited him to join them in the directors box to see a game. He declined saying that he wanted to be in the crowd with the working people and see their reaction. After the game he met with the directors and admitted that this was his first major league game. He was asked what he thought of it and his response was, "It was alright but as far as I could tell the buggers beat the bastards 2-1" This was what entered my mind when watching that debate.

Your assuming that it is against law to buy a vape. I didn't use it in Thailand. More to the point I and most others had no idea that it was unlawful whereas everyone on the forum is aware of the illegality of smoking in certain locations. Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

Methinks thou do protest too much! When did you hear of anyone getting arrested for using a vape , smoking in a go go, buying Viagra from a pharmacy, using a prostitute ete. All you are doing is finding as many reasons as possible to refute your addiction. Carry on. It is amusing. Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

After all that I suggest that if vaping is your thing that you buy one in Pattaya I bought one for a family member plus refills so I know that they can be bought cheap in Pattaya. I am amazed at reading your long drawn out explanations as to why smoking is so important to you. When I was a heavy smoker the only important thing to me was to find a way to give it up. Seems that this isnt something that you are considering. That really is a shame. The jury is in believe it or not.

Why worry? I recently Googled the law in Thailand as it pertains to smoking. I am assured that Thailand is at the forefront of countries banning and controlling smoking in enclosed and indeed public places. Have a read. It's more entertaining than scary but it is an exercise in futility and non action. If you are happy to ignore those laws why would you bother about vaping? Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

Well at least you have the satisfaction of posting here and sharing the pain and warning others. Thats a small comfort but it is what I believe the forum is for.

Here in New Zealand there is also a ban. As far as I can work out it has to do with checking out the safety issues of them rather than any pressure from the smoke lobby and I believe that they are shortly to be put on sale. Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

...and in addition to that where I hail from there are no air points either, not that I give a hoot as I will always look for the best deal. I hate to think what I would have spent extra over the years when in essence I have never had an situation arise where a cheap ticket was an issue.

Thanks MM. You are better organised that I am. I doesn't look like there are any new options. Sent from my XT1033 using Tapatalk

It is a long while since the options have been listed here and I would appreciate an update. I like to get to Ban Chang but other than regular bar crawls I have found this an expensive proposition. Has anyone been there recently using a bus or a cab? I stopped at one of those kiosks last month and asked for a price and was given 1000 baht one way. I have had a cab back and that was 700 baht. I really wouldn't mind going during the day by bus or mini van and would appreciate any up dates on methods of getting there/back and pricing. Also any cab pricing.